


Lost and Found

by NameMeAgainIveBeenLost



Series: I Don't Need No Super Suit (I'm Finally Feeling Brave) [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bruce Banner & Tony Stark Friendship, Cute, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Gender Dysphoria, Gender or Sex Swap, Implied/Referenced Torture, Irondad, Not Canon Compliant, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Rape Recovery, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, everyone loves everyone, peter is a bean, spiderson, trans!peter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-29
Updated: 2020-01-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:28:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22460341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NameMeAgainIveBeenLost/pseuds/NameMeAgainIveBeenLost
Summary: It's been three months since Beck assaulted Peter. Things are going well, Peter is healing, Beck is paying for his crimes, and Tony feels more at peace everyday.Life goes on, that's the simple fact of it, and for the Avengers, they move on together.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Michelle Jones/Peter Parker, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: I Don't Need No Super Suit (I'm Finally Feeling Brave) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1615966
Comments: 4
Kudos: 164





	Lost and Found

**Author's Note:**

> TW: Beck's gender is forcibly changed multiple times as part of a torture technique/ science experiment. Peter's assault is only minorly alluded to, it's not nearly as graphic as last time. Beck is tortured, limbs are removed, he's beat exc. But nothing is graphic.
> 
> DISCLAIMER: I am not a scientist, this science is shitty af. Sorry. I'm also not trans. I am not saying trans people who have a differing sex and gender are invalid. A trans woman with a penis is just as valid as a cis woman or a fellow trans woman who elected to have bottom surgery. A trans persons personal transitioning journey does not invalidate them in any way at all. The serum discussed is only an option the Avengers wanted Peter to have just in case he didn't want to undergo surgery, which is often painful and expensive, or in case his enhancements made surgery problematic. I am in no way saying a trans person needs to change their body, DNA, or chromosomes to be valid. 
> 
> Also, fair warning, this is far from the best thing I've ever written, I've had serious writers block and it literally took me months to get this out. Maybe if I get it off my plate I'll be able to finally work on the literal Stucky NOVEL I've had in the works for like a year. *cries in college student*  
> Also Also, Peter's counselor may be named after mine, she's a wonderful woman and only god knows where I'd be without her. (Probably not here tbh)

“Boss.” Fri spoke up, interrupting Tony, who was soldering a wire in his suit. He and Cap had gotten into a little spat about Tony’s lack of hand to hand and firearms training a week ago, and the centennial had punched Tony hard enough to crush his core reactor and disable most of his suit, sending the genius flying across the gym to prove a point. And, Tony had to admit, the man _had_ proven his point. After Tony had stood up and quipped about being unharmed, Clint had moved in and taken Tony back down so swiftly it was almost comical. ( _“You can’t always rely on your suit in a fight.” Steve had said sternly from the side of the mat as Clint helped Tony off the ground. “And sometimes, for all your genius and planning, getting out of a situation takes a little brute strength, Stark.”_

_“I know.” Tony had groaned, pride aching along with his ribs as he stood._

_“Remember Killian?” Pepper had said from the weights section where Natasha was spotting her._

_“And that weird guy in Hell’s Kitchen?” Peter had said through a full mouth, the young boy mask-less and perched atop the climbing wall, swinging his legs as he munched on a sandwich._

_“Or that girl in Moscow.” Happy had said through heaving breaths from his stance with Wilson at a punching bag._

_“Or that one asshole at MIT when you were 16?” Rhodey called, sitting on a bench and fiddling with his leg bracers._

_“Ok, ok!” Tony has said, scowling in frustration. “I get it! I'm physically inferior without my suit. Geez,thank you for rubbing it in!”_)

“Yea, babe?” he asked distractedly.

“Mr. Parker’s vitals are showing an increase in anxiety levels.” Friday told him primly. Tony stopped, looking up with a frown.

“Is he having another panic attack?” he asked, concerned.

“No boss.” Friday said.

“Is he hurt?” Tony pressed, more confused.

“He does not appear to be in any physical pain.”

“Where’s he at?” Tony asked, rolling over to the display monitor, pulling up the live footage from the Avengers main common floor (their main floor due to the industrial sized kitchen, refrigerators ( _plural_ ) and the, frankly, obscenely large flat screen TV and monolithic couch that could easily accommodate movie nights for all of them). Ned was still there, both boys spread out over the giant coffee table doing homework and surrounded by soda cans. Tony frowned a little at that, Peter knew he was only allowed one soda a day. The smaller boy was clearly agitated, he kept biting his lip and tapping his pencil, opening and closing his mouth like he wanted to speak.

“Ned,” Peter said suddenly, looking up from their Spanish homework with a set jaw.

“Yea dude,” Ned answered, not looking up as he squinted at the conjugations on his page, muttering the words to himself.

“ _Neeed_ ,” Peter whined, throwing a pencil at his friend, hitting him right in the forehead.

“Ow,” Ned complained, glaring as he rubbed his head, “dude?” he griped, and Peter rolled his eyes.

“Ned, this is serious!” Peter said.

“What? Dude, why?” Ned groaned, huffing and rolling his eyes. Apparently, this conversation had been going on for a while.

“Because I’m gonna tell her my biggest secret!” Peter said in exasperation, tossing his arms in the air. Ned looked unimpressed.

“But you already told her about being Spider-Man?”

Peter groaned and threw himself down on the couch in the common room, tossing a hand over his eyes. Tony’s lip twitched up in a smile, glad to see the boy being a dramatic little shit again.

“Who cares about that?!” he wailed.

“Most of New York?” Ned supplied. Peter tossed a pillow at the heavy-set boy’s head, which Ned caught with ease.

“Dude, she’s not gonna care. She’s MJ.” Ned tried reasoning.

“But what if she does care?” Peter argued, “what if she thinks I’m, like, weird or gross or something?” Peter’s vitals, displayed on screen next to the video feed, spiked. Tony made a small sound when he realized just what Peter was worked up about and why his vitals had pinged. The older man almost turned the footage off, not wanting to eavesdrop….

But, well… key word, _almost_. Guiltily, he turned his full attention to the screen and turned off his music so he could hear the boy’s conversation better.

“Peter, my dude, she’s was totally ok when I told her about you laying spider eggs-“ Ned started calmly, only to be cut off by Peter’s alarmed “ _what?!_ ” which Ned acted as if he hadn’t heard, “she’s gonna be totally cool about you being trans. She’s _MJ_ , Peter.”

“Yea, ok, she’ll be cool about it. But will she be cool about it in the ' _I’m still gonna be your friend and hang out with you and not call you a girl'_ way or the ' _yea I’d date you and it’d be chill_ ” way?”

Ned blinked stupidly for a minute before his eyes went wide.

“Oh!” he gasped, pointing at Peter, making the boy groan and hide his face in another throw pillow, “You’re gonna ask her!” Ned gaped and his eyes went wide.

“No! Yes! Maybe? I don’t know!” Peter groaned, dropping the pillow to reveal his face, he turned flaming red as he grabbed at his hair.

“No way! You gotta!” Ned practically squealed, grabbing Peter’s arm and shaking the boy. Peter’s minute flinch at the touch went unnoticed by his friend, but his vitals momentarily spiked before evening back out quickly.

“Is it weird? Do you think it’s too soon? I mean, do I do it in the same conversation, or do I, like, wait a while?” Peter said, biting his lip and looking to his friend imploringly.

“Dude, it’s been 84 years-“

“We’ve only known her for two and a half, Ned,” Peter pointed out, yet again ignored.

“It’s weirder that you _haven’t_ asked her. She’s been making weird, creepy, stalker, heart-eyes at you for, like, ever.”

Peter gave a disbelieving snort, “No she hasn’t.” he insisted.

“Uh, yea, dude, she has. She totally noticed something was up with you after the bite. Like, way before I did.”

“Did she say that?” Peter asked, brow furrowing. Ned nodded energetically.

“Pleassse do it!” Ned begged, grabbing Peter’s arm and shaking him again, Tony was glad to see Peter didn’t flinch this time, “I wanna be the best man at your wedding! Can Captain American officiate it? That would be so cool. Oh-“

“Dude!” Peter flushed bright red and pushed his friend away, “I’m just asking her on a date, not marrying her!”

“Yes, you will.” Ned said, dismissing a spluttering Peter. “Spring wedding, lots of flowers and shit. She’ll definitely wear a tux with you, with, like, flowers in her hair and stuff. Probably like, with a black dahlia in the buttonhole since you got her that necklace in Ita-”

“Ned,” Peter groaned rubbing his eyes in annoyance, “can you not? Just, like, for once?”

“I’ll “ _not_ ” if you call her and tell her.” Ned said, grabbing Peter’s StarkPhone and shoving it into the boy’s hands.

“Now?!” Peter practically screeched, shoving the phone away like it burned him and jumping up from the couch.

“Yes, now!” Ned insisted, grabbing the phone and holding it out.

“No way! Shouldn’t this be, like, a face to face thing?”

“Dude, you’re spending too much time with Mr. America. This is the 21st century. You can use facetime.” Ned said, brandishing the phone. Peter was looking at the device in horror, before shaking his head.

“She’s probably busy right now-“

“It’s 6pm on a Sunday, Peter. Call her.”

“No.” Peter said firmly.

“Yes.” Ned said, rolling his eyes.

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No!”

“Yes!”

“Ned, no!” Peter shook his head. Ned glared for a moment.

“Friday, can you facetime MJ, please?”

“Of course, Ned.” Friday said, with maybe a hint of humor. Peter spun on his heel to look at the tv screen so quickly he tripped and fell as the call briefly rang before almost immediately picking up.

“ _Idiots._ ” MJ greeted dryly, sticking an earbud in her ear as she lifted her phone to eyelevel, so she was clearly visible. Peter jumped up from the ground.

“MJ! Heeyyy,” he started, chuckling nervously and shooting Ned a death glare.

MJ raised an eyebrow and her lip quirked. “ _Hey yourself Parker. How’s life? Stark buy you an island yet?_ ”

Peter gave a small hysterical laugh at her joke, “No but he says I can use the five he’s already got anytime I want.” MJ rolled her eyes and shook her head slightly.

“Well, I have to go…. To the bathroom.” Ned said loudly, quickly exiting the room, Peter looked at him, wide eyed and a little desperate.

“Are you sure-“ Peter started.

“Yep, bye MJ!” Ned said brightly, waving at the TV screen before quickly scurrying in the direction of the bathroom. MJ merely raised a brow in question.

“ _What was that about?_ ” she asked. Peter looked like a deer in headlights and Tony caught himself snickering at the boy.

“Oh, uh, nothing. We just… sodas, yea, he had a lot of-“ MJ rolled her eyes, face turning down in a scowl.

“ _You know those things will fucking kill you, right?_ ” she scolded, taking a deep breath to start off on her tirade. Tony realized he’d been around these three kids way too much when he immediately knew she was about to launch into the correlation between sodas and cancer. Peter must have been thinking along the same lines because he suddenly opened his mouth.

“MJIhaveasecretIneedtotellyou,” he got out all in one breath, whole body taunt as a bow. MJ stopped, her face falling as she looked at him in confusion.

“ _You already told me about being Spider-Man, Pete._ ” She said, her lip twitching a little. Peter laughed hysterically, clapping a hand over his mouth.

“It’s not- I’m not- it’s not about that,” he finally choked out. He took several deep breaths, hyping himself up, before he opened his mouth. “MJ, I’m transgender.”

On screen MJ just blinked, then smiled, her face a touch softer than usual. “ _Oh, yea, that, I know._ ”

“You do?!” Peter asked, alarmed.

“I was waiting your living room when you got stuck in your binder that one time and Ned had to help you, you remember?” She asked, smiling fully now. Peter floundered and blushed brighter.

“I wasn’t stuck!” he denied.

“ _You said, and I quote,_ 'Ned, help me! This stupid fucking binder won’t let me go.'” MJ supplied helpfully.

“I wasn’t stuck!” Peter spluttered again, voice cracking adorably, “I was sweaty, and it wouldn’t come off! Have you ever tried to get off a binder when it’s wet?! It’s like, impossible! That thing was trying to eat me alive!” Peter looked like he was about to start on a rant about vicious, cannibalistic binders, but paused.

“That was, like, two years ago. The summer after we met.” He said, a little quiet and shocked. MJ nodded.

“ _Yep._ ” She said.

“Wha- but, how….” Peter trailed off, “you never said anything?” He finally said weakly. MJ shrugged, attempting to be nonchalant.

“It wasn’t my business. I figured when or if you wanted me to know, you’d tell me, ya know?”

Peters whole body softened, his tense edges releasing as he deflated.

“Oh.” He said simply.

“ _Yep._ ” MJ said, popping the “ _P_ ” loudly and giving Peter a fond look. “ _Also, you like never go swimming with us during the summer._ ”

“Wet… binders.” Peter said faintly, he looked almost like he was going to faint.

“ _Mmm, I feel you. I had to wear one when I played that guy in the school play last year. Thing got sweaty as fuck under the lights._ ”

“Yea, I remember that, you were great.” Peter said with a faint smile, blushing slightly. Tony almost cooed at the screen; his kid was absolutely precious.

“ _Thanks._ ” MJ said, ducking her head and flushing in pride.

As the two bashfully avoided eye contact, the door to Tony’s lab whooshed open. Bruce came in, nose buried in his tablet.

“Hey Tony, I think I hit a break-through with the serum-“

“Shh!” Tony said, flapping his hands in his friend’s direction. Bruce looked up in confusion before his eyes homed in on the surveillance feed of Peter and MJ.

“Tony!” he admonished, rolling his eyes, “Are you spying on Peter?”

“Yes, shut up Jolly Green Giant,” Tony hissed, turning back up the volume as Peter began to open and close his mouth again, like he was trying to speak, “My boys about to ask MJ out!”

Bruce, abandoning his annoyance, made a small sound of pleased surprised and pulled a stool over to sit by Tony, awkwardly dragging his tablet and not taking his eyes off the screen.

Peter quit gapping like a fish and finally squared his shoulders, Tony felt a smile tug at his lips again, reminded of the thousand times he’d seen Peter move like that during a fight.

“MJ, you know you’re like, one of my best friends, right?” He said.

“ _And you’re mine._ ” MJ told him, nodding in agreement. Peter nodded to himself, taking a deep breath, then paused.

“Hang on.” He said, darting away before she could answer. The camera automatically followed Peter to see him swing around the corner and run face first into Ned, who had also been eaves dropping.

“I’m gonna tell her.” Peter hissed. His levels had spiked again, and he had gone pale.

“You just told her?” Ned said, cocking his head. Peter gave him a meaningful look.

“No, Ned, I’m gonna _tell_ her.”

“Tell- oh.” Ned’s face fell. “You want me to stay or go where I can’t hear?” he asked, nodding his head in the direction of the bathroom. Peter could just be seen biting his lip, clenching and releasing his fists.

“Nooo, don’t go, but I need to tell her about it myself, you know?” Peter said, drawn out and unsure, “but, like, stay close? Or, I don’t know. If I just freak of whatever… will you get Tony?”

“Of course, man,” Ned said, his voice kind and soft, “want a hug?” he asked, opening his arms slightly. Peter threw himself at his friend and squeezed tight.

“Thanks man,” Peter said. Ned just nodded and turned to lock himself in the bathroom, the door clicking closed behind him. Peter took a deep breath and turned back into the living room.

“Uh, Tony, maybe we should-“ Bruce started uncomfortably, even as Tony was already reaching forward to turn off the screen.

“Way ahead of you.” Tony said, trying to stay flippant, though his hands were suddenly shaking.

“Tony,” Bruce said, grabbing for Tony’s shaking hand as the camera feed cut off.

“Hey, Fri, babe,” Tony said, voice trembling as he shakes off Bruce’s touch, “lemme know if the kid’s vitals start looking bad, yea?”

“Yes, boss.” Friday says primly.

“That’s what I get for eaves dropping.” Tony muttered to himself, walking over to the generously stocked bar in the corner of his lab.

“Thought you weren’t drinking?” Bruce said with a frown.

“Not now, Oscar.”

“Oscar?” Bruce asked, baffled. Tony grunted in agreement as he poured himself a glass of whiskey that cost more than most people’s cars. He knocked it back without hesitation.

“Oscar, the little trashcan douchebag on the puppet show.” Tony explained, a little calmer as the burn settled in his gut, warm and familiar, if not welcome. Bruce rolled his eyes.

“Bring me a drink.” He said, voice still annoyingly soft. Tony didn’t answer verbally but did pull out a second tumbler for Bruce.

“So, spilling all his secrets aside, which is probably a good sign by the way, how’s he doing, on the whole?” Bruce asked as Tony handed him the glass and took a seat next to him, groaning as he rubbed his breastbone, a phantom ache despite the current lack of shrapnel in his chest.

“Honestly?” Tony sighed, “Really good, but I’m still always worried. But he’s handling things really well, he’s better at recognizing his panic attacks than I was after New York. You know how shitty I got.” Bruce nodded solemnly. “He asks for help. He’s doing ok in school as far as I can tell. I haven’t had to pick him up since his second day back. Some little asshole pushed him around and Peter panicked, but he kept his cool enough to not use his strength and was able to call me. He still calls me most nights he’s not staying here; he says he’s worried I’m not ok. So, I installed the full version of Friday on his phone, he can ask her to check my vitals now if he gets worried about it. Other than that, he seems to be doing good. He went back out on patrol a few nights ago.”

“Did he really?” Bruce asked, sounding almost impressed. Tony couldn’t help lifting his chin a little in pride at his kid.

“He did. He was out for five hours last Friday. Stopped a few robberies and assaults, helped a few drunk kids get home in one piece. He told me a few months ago about how he spent a lot of time outside the bars, trying to make sure the kids got home safe and said he wished he could help more instead of having to walk one home at a time. So I gave made him an Uber account and told him to start just ordering people cars. That seems to be working out better for him, I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before.”

“Because you’re a spoiled brat who always had a driver.” Bruce said drily, shooting Tony a small smile to soften the teasing barb. It made Tony huff out a laugh of his own.

“Pete says it’s cause I’m so damned old I forget these things exist now.”

“That too.” Bruce conceded.

“Betraitor!” Tony gasped, clutching his chest animatedly, making Bruce roll his eyes. “But seriously. I’m proud of him. He’s still seeing that therapist a few days a week, but he cut down to two days instead of three. Hence the time to patrol.”

“How’s he doing with her?” Bruce asked, curious.

“He likes her, I got to meet her when I took him to an appointment two weeks ago. Her names Patrice, she’s very like Wilson. No nonsense, good sense of humor, but still very kind. I think Sam chose really well, I’m glad he knew her. Peter adores her, he won’t shut up about her actually. I’m a little jealous, not gonna lie.” Tony chuckled and Bruce smiled with him.

They drank in silence for a moment, Tony thinking about how far Peter had come in the three months since Beck’s assault. Peter had gone back to school two weeks after the initial incident and moved back in with his aunt a week after that. He was still having trouble sleeping at home and spent much of his free time in Avengers tower. But the kid was strong, stronger than most people Tony had ever met. He bounced back like an elastic ball. Tony had been so proud when Peter told him he was ready to don the mask again. For Tony, his armor had become his shield from the rest of the world. For Peter it had, if only for a moment, become his tomb, his downfall. Peter told Tony he hadn’t known how to feel about his mantel. Part of him had felt comforted to have the suit back, part of him had lost faith in Spider-Man, in himself, since the assault. It was slow going, but day by day he was coming to accept that the assault wasn’t his fault, that he had nothing to be ashamed of.

Nothing was as it had been, of course. Peter still had panic attacks and needed to lock himself away in the tower, he still didn’t like sudden touches and was sensitive about anything being wrapped around his wrists (save his web shooters). Tony actually noticed him rubbing them more than once, as if checking he was still unbound. He stopped taking his web shooters off all together, finally admitting he was even wearing them in the shower, so scared to be caught defenseless. He had also taken to modifying and modifying and modifying and modifying his suit, trying to think of every possibility, every eventuality. Tony couldn’t fault him that, he’d done the same thing after New York. Most nights Peter came over found them in the lab, heads bent over Peter’s suit, murmuring about safety features and adjustments that could be made.

“Tony,” Bruce said, lightly touching his arm.

“Hm?” Tony asked, jerking back to the present. His glass was still mostly full and he suddenly didn’t feel such a need for it, he pushed the amber liquid away.

“Yea, what’s up?” he said, turning to Bruce who was eyeing him.

“I said I’m glad Peter’s doing well. I was going to show you something with the serum when I came in.”

“You found something?” Tony asked excitedly. Bruce nodded as he swiped on his tablet.

“Obviously I couldn’t administer the test myself. I just can’t be around-“ Bruce cut off, his jaw tightening and a tendon sticking out on his neck, green crept up his veins.

“I know Banner, me too.” Tony said softly, in understanding, gripping Bruce’s shoulder comfortingly. It took a second, but Bruce took a deep breath in through his nose and unclenched his jaw enough to breathe out slowly.

“Sorry.” He said, shooting Tony a wry smile, which Tony returned, before Bruce swiped up on his tablet. A video feed started on one of the monitors. Tony motioned for the feed to move to the monitor so they could see easier.

Beck, Tony was happy to see, was looking rather rough. His beard was growing back in, his hair matted and greasy, though it was hard to tell any of that because his face was swollen and bruised beyond recognition. He was strapped down to the same table Tony had been strapped down on, only now the table was horizontal. His left foot had been sawed off at some point since Tony last saw him, a medical necessity after it became infected. There was an IV in one of Beck’s arms for fluids and nutrients, forcing the man to stay alive.

The initial plan had been to let Nat and Bucky work their magic on Beck, ensure he didn’t have any other associates, then dispose of him. After all, it would be bad press if the public knew the Avengers were torturing a man, no matter his crimes. But then the rest of the Avengers had wanted vengeance. There had been a whispered debate around the kitchen island as Peter dozed on the common room couch after a movie the day after Beck had been captured. In the end, it had been Bruce, wonderful, intelligent Bruce (who had to step away from that conversation almost half a dozen times to keep the Hulk at bay), that had come up with the perfect idea.

Amidst everyone arguing how best to serve justice for Beck, he had timidly mentioned that Peter’s mutation could make transition surgery, should he ever pursue it, rather difficult between his healing factor and the possibility of his body rejecting any foreign surgical modification. Bruce had purposed that, maybe, theoretically, he could find a way to create a transitioning serum. Not just hormone replacement, but a chromosomal change and body modification in one. He had pointed to Steve and the Hulk, talking about how the serum had mutated their bodies on a cellular and anatomical level as well as physical. Theoretically, if Bruce could do it right, he could find a way to affect a person’s very DNA, maybe modify the body similarly to how he and Steve’s bodies had been modified physically. After all, the serum had somehow defied all the laws of nature and created and taken away matter where there wasn’t any (Bruce shrinking and growing as the Hulk, displacing the very matter of the world around him, and Steve who had grown from nothing).

“What does that have to do with Beck?” Steve had asked, massaging his temples as Bucky laid a metal hand on the small off his husbands back, leading Steve to lean into his side. Steve’s shoulders released minutely, it made Tony think of Pepper kissing him on the head and holding him at night. He wished she hadn’t had to go to that meeting in Tokyo, he missed her terribly. It was early days and Peter was still doing poorly, everyone had banded together but still felt the effects. They were all tired and angry and aching for revenge for the child in their midst.

“I’ll need a test subject?” Bruce had said, almost innocent. Steve’s eyes flashed up, understanding dawning along with everyone else around the table.

By this point, Beck had been through multiple trials, with visits from various blood thirsty Avengers in between. The last time a few weeks ago had been the closest to success. For a few hours, Beck’s facial hair had mostly fallen out and been replaced by soft, light peach fuzz. His facial structure remained largely the same, though his shoulders seemed a bit narrower, his feet had shrank just a bit, and most impressively, his genitals shrank and the beginning of what Bruce theorized would eventually be a functioning vagina if given the right amount of incubation time, and his chest grew to a solid B cup. Beck had shrieked, his voice shriller than before, then cried as Natasha had stripped him and measured his new body parts. Bruce had been in an excited tizzy, almost able to withstand the Beck’s presence for a moment so he could witness what his serum had accomplished. But then Beck had begged Bruce to help him, incorrectly assuming Bruce wasn’t with Nat and Barnes, and Bruce’s temper almost got the better of him. Bruce had screamed at Beck about how Peter had begged, Peter had cried for mercy and Beck had hurt him anyway so why should Bruce help him, why should Bruce listen to his cries, his pleading-

Before Natasha had slapped Bruce across the face, and the scientist realized his hands were mostly green, the emerald shade creeping up his neck and teasing across his jaw line, arms growing and straining against his shirt sleeves as Bucky held him back. Bruce fled and Natasha followed, helping him calm down. Since then Bruce had contented himself with sitting outside the room with Beck in it, instead instructing Natasha on how to administer each test serum.

On the current video feed, Tony watched as Nat wheeled a medical trolly over to Beck. Tony turned the volume up a little.

“No- No please! Please don’t!” Beck begged, breath coming in jagged gasps. “Not again, please! Please! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” his voice rose as he watched Natasha prepare the first needle. Nat’s face remained impassive as always. The door opened and Barnes stepped in. Beck’s cries became frantic as he began to fight his bonds at the sight of Barnes, who had been none too gentle in his treatment of the mad man.

“How’s it coming?” Barnes asked, voice almost a yell to be heard over Beck’s cries for mercy.

“It’d come a lot faster if he’d shut the fuck up.” Natasha said, voice tinged with frustration as she very carefully began cleaning the crook of Beck’s elbow. Barnes jerked his head in a nod and stepped to the side. There was another trolly with a bowl of water and a cattle prod along with various cleaning supplies. Barnes grabbed the cattle prod. He didn’t even hesitate to let Beck try and bargain before jamming the cattle prod into Beck’s ribs, causing the man to jerk and scream. It was a painfully long minute and a half before Barnes pulled the cattle prod away, Beck falling limp. Barnes grabbed Beck by his greasy hair, jerking his head up.

“Are you done?” Barnes asked, condescending in the extreme. Beck whimpered and nodded, cringing away from Barnes. Barnes just grunted and let the man go.

“Thanks.” Natasha said, a little of the tension around her eyes dissipating.

Barnes grunted in acknowledgement. “I don’t see why we can just gag the fucker.” Barnes almost growled, his jaw and shoulders tightening as he looked at Beck.

“Bruce says he needs to know if its speaking abilities are hindered, said it could mean the brain was detrimentally altered.”

Beck audibly whimpered as Natasha stuck him with the first injection.

“How many this time?” Barnes asked from his place leaning against the door.

“About a dozen.” Natasha said like it was nothing. Beck whined in his throat and her lips twitched up in a smile.

Barnes huffed a laugh through his nose. “And how many of those are necessary?” He asked in a light tone.

“Mmm, two?” she said sweetly. Beck sobbed on the table and Barnes laughed.

“Natalia, I wonder who taught you to be so ruthless, hm?”

“No clue, just some crazy American with a metal arm.” Nat said with a rather sadistic grin. (Only she and Steve could joke about Barnes’ stint with Hydra, anyone else and the man would nearly fold in on himself in shame. He and Tony had only had a single brief conversation about everything the day after he and Rogers had returned home. Even then, Tony was only able to stomach that conversation by thinking of Peter. Of how disappointed Peter would be in him if he killed Barnes and how his death would mean Tony losing his family all over again (this time including Peter), and how, really, it wasn’t the poor bastards fault, and really, Steve was just shit at communicating (not that he had room to talk). He had gruffly told Barnes that he ought to be on his best behavior and never speak of Howard or Maria Stark in his presence. Barnes had readily agreed. Since then Tony was shocked to find that Barnes adored Peter and that the man was often tucked away in the corner of the lab, gapping in awe as he and Peter worked and discussing sci-fi classics with the kid.)

Tony, he had to admit, liked to watch Natasha work. Beck deserved it, and every one of his whines and groans of pain felt like a balm on the wound he’d left on Tony’s heart. Natasha injected Beck with the serum, then Bruce began to fast forward, skipping over the comically large additional needles Nat none too carefully stuck him with. It took nearly 6 hours, but neither Natasha nor Barnes moved from their place leaning against the wall, nearly sedentary if not for the slight shift of their weights. Beck writhed and screamed the entire time, his whole body taunt as a bow. Tony felt his eyes widen in alarm as Beck’s body began to shift before their eyes. His chest expanded, his shoulders narrowed, his remaining foot shrank, his whole body compacted, his hips widened, and jaw softened. And his penis shrank away to nothing, until there was a clear vagina between his legs.

“Wow.” Tony breathed; eyes wide in shock.

“It gets better.” Bruce said, excited as he turned back to Tony, eyes wide. “He was like that for three days. He reported no pain at all and functioned normally. And then we readministered it!” Bruce swiped through and pulled up another video. They watched the same process, and at the end Beck was back to as he’d been before.

“How long ago was this?” Tony asked, awestruck.

“Two days.” Bruce said proudly, Tony looked at him, impressed.

“Bruce this is an amazing break through. But what about Peter’s enhancements? And the pain?” Tony asked, dubiously eyeing the video feed of Beck who was panting and sweating heavily.

“Ah, well, that’s where we’re still stuck. The pain can easily be taken care of as long as we knock him out for long enough, but I’m still worried about how it would react with his enhancement. I think if we combine the information, we have on his DNA structure pre and post spider bite and reverse engineer the vita ray we can create a stable cradle in which his enhancements can accept the chromosomal and subsequent physical change as quickly as possible. But that’ll take a while to figure out. I want to talk with Helen Cho and see what she has to say. This is, unfortunately getting a little out of my depth, and I’d like to bring a hormonal and transitional specialist on board as well.” Tony nodded along, quickly flipping through Bruce’s notes and formulas as the man spoke.

“This is great, Bruce. If this works, if we can find a way to ensure there’s not any pain, SI could put this on the market for the general population. A single dose transition, this would revolutionize the industry. Save people thousands and thousands of dollars in surgeries, weeks of pain and recovery.” Tony said, already vaguely thinking about the thousands of kids like Peter who could walk in the doctor’s office and walk out in a body they’re comfortable in. It sounded like something out of a sci fi movie, or magic. But then again, Tony had a personal belief that all science should look like magic to the uninformed, or else he was doing it all wrong.

“That would put lots of doctors out of work.” Bruce pointed out and Tony shook his head.

“Not necessarily. There’re always non-binary people, or people who don’t want surgery at all, or just want the HRT. Or people who want top surgery but not bottom or vice versa. The demand will still be there, the doctors won’t be hurting.” Bruce nodded in acquisition.

“Well, regardless, we don’t need to figure it all out today. Peter’s got time, he may choose to attempt traditional surgery, or to wait until he’s done with high school or college before he decides anything, and now that I have this serum I can integrate it into his HRT I think, help give it a boost so it works with his enhancements better if that’s what he wants. I’m still having trouble getting his hormone levels where they should be.” Bruce said, sighing and stretching, rolling his neck. Tony looked at him, really looked at him for the first time since the doctor had walked in. He was tired, Tony could tell, deep purples under his eyes like bruises, and his hair was distinctly ruffled, the curls tugged and twisted out of place. He looked a little paler than usual as well.

“Have you been sleeping?” Tony blurted out before he could stop himself. Bruce gave him a wry smile and lifted one brow.

“Have you?” He shot back. Tony paused for a minute, before shrugging.

“Mostly. It’s better when the kid calls and when Pep is home. And Fri is pretty good about locking me out of the lab when I need to sleep.”

Bruce nodded, before sighing and pushing his glasses up to rub his eyes. “It’s just…. This is getting to me a lot more than I thought it would, you know?” he said, shaking his head a little. “I thought I’d be able to stay a step back from all of this, but I just… I get you being so invested; I mean he’s practically your kid. And Rhodey has an interest in him as his best friends’ kid. Sam’s got that weird earnest connection he has with everyone and Nat and Bucky and Wanda have all been hurt the same way he was. Clint, well he’s already a dad so of course he’s, ya know, protective. And Steve is Steve, he feels responsible for everyone, Atlas incarnate. But I thought I’d be able to stay out of this. I barely know the kid, I didn’t expect all this to take such a toll.”

“You know he adores you, right?” Tony said after a moment, not sure what else to say. “I mean, the kid can keep up with the both of us on our best days, no sweat. But he _loves_ your work. Like nerdy freak outs, ‘who cares about Tony Stark, that’s _Bruce Banner’_ loves your work.”

“He does?” Bruce asked, voice small and eyes a little shocked.

“Yea,” Tony grinning a little, “he was so freaked out the day he got to meet you, he literally climbed the walls and started pacing before you came in, trying to calm himself down. He was so close to asking for your autograph and launching into a full Q&A about that paper you wrote a few years ago, the one you did with Cho.”

Bruce flushed bright red, avoiding Tony’s eye, “I didn’t know that. He does pretty well keeping his cool.”

Tony grinned and poked Bruce hard in the side with a screwdriver that had been sitting on the work bench, making the man jump away and glare at Tony. “I told him he wasn’t allowed to have any other favorites beside me, or else I’d disinherit him.”

“I can’t believe we all willingly hang out with you.” Bruce griped, still rubbing his side.

Tony was about to say something snarky when Friday alerted him.

“Boss.” She said, definite humor in her voice.

“Yea starshine, what you got for me?” Tony said eagerly.

“Mr. Parker is on his way down sir.”

“And how are his levels?” Tony asked, sitting up a little. Bruce began closing out the video feeds quickly. They’d told Peter that Beck was in custody, but the boy didn’t need to know where he was being held, or what they were doing to the madman.

“Mr. Parkers heart rate is high, his adrenaline levels are high, and his dopamine levels are higher than they’ve been in months, sir.” Tony whooped in triumph and stood, punching the air in victory, before grabbing Bruce by the shoulders and shaking the man a little.

“She said yes! My kid’s got a date!” Tony crowed, snagging the tumblers and pouring a quick drink, shoving the glass back into Bruce’s hand.

“To science.” Bruce said with a grin.

“To my brave kid.” Tony replied, clinking their glasses. As they tipped their heads back and drained their glasses, the door to the lab opened and Peter bounded through.

“Tony!” He blurted out, grinning. Peter’s eyes were red from crying, but the smile stretched across his face looked almost pained. He paused, seeing Bruce.

“Oh, sorry, should I...?” Peter started. It was a testament to how happy he was that his grin barely faded as he began to try and take a sheepish step out.

“Oh no you don’t.” Tony said, beckoning him in. “Fri says your vitals are off the charts, tell me the good news!” he said, tugging Peter into his side. Peter grinned at him.

“I asked MJ out and she said yes and now we’re going to go eat at that sustainable sushi place that she likes on Wednesday after decathlon practice.” Peter spat out in a rush, face gleeful and proud.

“That’s my boy!” Tony said, pulling Peter into a tight hug. Peter melted into the man happily, tucking his face into Tony’s shoulder. Tony peered at Bruce over Peter’s head, a silent conversation playing out before Bruce nodded in acquisition.

“So, since you’re in such a good mood…” Tony started, releasing Peter a little and smiling down at him again, “Bruce has some big news too.”

Peter looked to Bruce expectantly. Bruce paused for a moment, probably editing the story in his head, before launching into an explanation of the serum and cradle and how he had already tested the serum and how it worked. When he was done, Peter could only gape at him in disbelief, before he teared up again.

“You- you can-“

“Not quiet yet.” Bruce rushed to tell him. “But soon, yea. Probably within the next year or so, assuming we can recreate the vitaray and modify it to work along with Cho’s cradle properly. And this isn’t your only option. Traditional surgery may still work fine, and of course there’s nothing that says you have to even get surgery at all-”

Peter detached from Tony’s side and flung himself at Bruce, cutting him off and hugging the scientist tightly.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you.” Peter choked out. Bruce looked bewildered before he hugged Peter back.

“It’s been a joint effort.” Bruce told him, flushed red and never one for the spotlight.

“Still,” Peter said, finally pulled back, “this is gonna change so many peoples lives. This is, Dr. Banner, this is huge! It’s, I can’t even-“ Peter began to stutter and ramble, his face a little star struck, a little love drunk. He looked happier than Tony had ever seen him. Peter turned back to Tony and laughed in disbelief.

“I’m gonna get to transition. I didn’t ever think I’d actually… it’s just so expensive, I didn’t actually think-” Peter said, his eyes wide in wonder and a little misty.

“You were always gonna get what you need, kiddo. This is just another option we wanted to create for you.” Tony cut him a little sternly. He never wanted Peter to doubt he would have gotten the surgeries he needed. As long as he was Tony’s kid, he’d get everything he needed and if Peter would just let him, everything he wanted too. But the boy still felt odd about any too extravagant gifts. So now Tony had to ask Rhodey or Rogers or Bruce or basically anyone else if a gift was too much before he gave it to the boy. Pepper had informed Tony his idea of extravagant was far, far above everyone else’s idea.

“I didn’t know, I mean, it wasn’t covered by our insurance and I never thought- and now you just… and Mj! And I don’t even know what I’m gonna wear on the date.” Peter choked out, his eyes misty and looking like this was the single best day of his life. Tony was about to open his mouth to offer his assistance, when Bruce cut in with a pained look on his face.

“Pepper, go ask Pepper.” Bruce said quickly.

“Hey!” Tony cried indignantly.

“Or Nat,” Bruce continued as if he hadn’t spoken, “or Sam, or, hell, go ask Steve. Just for the love of god, _don’t_ let Tony help you.”

“I’m right here!” Tony complained.

“And _don’t_ wear any sunglasses that he gives you.” Bruce said franticly. Tony brandished a screwdriver at Bruce, a scowl on his face.

“Now hold on just a second here, Banner, I-“ but he was cut off by Peter giggling. The sound was young and sweet and for a moment just as innocent as Peter should still be.

Tony found his anger fading away, too enchanted with the look of joy on Peter’s face. This kid, who had been through so much pain, so much suffering and heartache, still managed to laugh so brightly he could have lit the night sky. And something about that sparked inside Tony’s chest. It soothed the ragged edges and shed a bright light on any encroaching darkness. He thought to himself that this child would be ok, Peter would still grow and love and laugh and smile. And one day those good things would outweigh the acts of one man, one day this boy would go on to be who he always wanted to be, and Beck may influence that journey, but he’d deserve no bearing on how wonderful of a person Peter would continue and grow to be. Peter was a great boy, and one day, one day that was coming far too soon for Tony’s liking, he’d be a great man. It made Tony want to bottle this moment of youthful exuberance, to hold on to this moment that made Tony forget he hadn’t known this child all his life, this moment that made Tony truly believe that this wonderful family he had cobbled from assassins and super soldiers and demi-gods and science experiments gone wrong was worth all the pain and all the heartache they’d each endured to find their way home.


End file.
